The Horses of the Sahara 42

The Horses of the Sahara 42

The _dolly_ panther is larger, stronger, and more dangerous than the

other species. Its coat is speckled with spots more elegantly disposed,

of a very dark shade, and close to one another. The colours are black,

white, and yellow. On the jowl, limbs, and back-bone, there are no

spots, but stripes. Those on the jowl are arranged diagonally. The upper

points start from the lower eyelids, the nostrils, and the corners of

the mouth, and descend towards the neck, gradually melting away into

yellow, and finally lost in the white.

 

Panthers lap like dogs. They generally roam in couples. In districts

that are well peopled, they are never seen in the daytime. In

uninhabited regions, although they do go abroad in the day, they hunt

only at night. They have not more than two or three cubs. The Arabs are

far from regarding the panther with the esteem they accord to the lion.

The lion, say they, if attacked, harassed, wounded, and surrounded by

enemies, feels his courage heighten in the midst of the uproar and in

the thick of the danger. He fearlessly encounters his assailants and

fights to the death, while the panther only accepts the combat when it

finds no way to retreat. In a word, the lion, as soon as the combat has

fairly commenced, never retires, while the panther escapes whenever an

opportunity presents itself. Another difference is this—the lion will

devour a man, the panther never. The latter generally strikes at his

head, lacerates him with its claws, and inflicts terrible bites, and

then, preferring the flesh of other animals to that of a son of Adam, it

leaves him there and goes in search of other prey. In a country where it

is able to supply itself with the flesh of wild boar, sheep, cattle, and

game of all kinds, and where it can satiate itself with the carcases of

animals, it kills man, not because it is hungry, but in self-defence, as

the only way of shaking off an enemy. In the case of the lion, man is

often the game in quest of which he stalks abroad; while in that of the

panther he is an adversary to be avoided, and never to be provoked. You

may pass boldly and confidently close to the thick brushwood that

conceals it, and, if you do not begin the attack, it will remain

crouched as close as a partridge, even holding in its breath. But if you

fire and miss, it will spring upon, bite, and lacerate you, and then,

still distrustful of itself, will take itself off.

 

The Arabs have remarked, from the numbers of persons who have come in

collision with panthers, and been wounded without being killed, that it

uses only its teeth; its bite being like that of the dog, and injuring

only the flesh. The lion, on the other hand, by his violent shaking,

breaks the bones of the victim he holds in his powerful jaws. When the

panther has inflicted its bite, it does not trouble itself as to its

being fatal or otherwise, but makes off with fear and caution. The lion

grows more and more furious, and returns to the attack again and again.

It is not enough that the enemy be disabled—he must feel the whole

weight of a lion's wrath. The lion bounds into a _douar_, and plunders

boldly, at his leisure. He seizes his share without any concealment; he

has no fear; he is exercising his right, the right of the strongest. The

panther covers its advance, glides, creeps, crawls along like a thief,

accompanied by shame and fear. The panther's spring, when enraged, is

like a flash of lightning; but after that tremendous effort, its pace is

less swift than that of an ordinary horse. If a panther be surrounded,

tracked down, and hard pressed—maddened by terror rather than by rage—it

will spring on the tree in which the hunters are stationed, and close

with them. But at another time, if only one or two men are lying in

ambush, and it be not shut in on all sides and a path is left for

escape, it forgets its power and runs away. Everywhere and at all times,

the lion is a dangerous enemy, to encounter whom is a terrible

undertaking; whereas no one need dread the panther unless he has first

attacked it. The cry of the latter animal resembles the clear, shrill,

impotent neigh of the mule, and is in no way calculated to inspire

terror like the roar of the lion, which is as the growling of thunder.

But it is quick and agile, and its movements baffle the eye. If the

natural disposition of the panther leads it to spare, or at least to

avoid, man, and to choose for its prey animals wild or tame, such as

sheep, cows, gazelles, and antelopes, that cannot defend themselves, it

is equally instructed by instinct to modify its mode of attack upon

animals whose habits or courage render them difficult or dangerous to

assail—against such, it has usually recourse to surprise. It will not

attack a horse in the centre of a _douar_. Its habitual circumspection

and cowardice will restrain it from seeking to seize upon a prey that

might be rescued in time, or promptly avenged. Even when out grazing, a

horse by itself might escape by galloping off; but if it has not been

seen, or suspected, if with a single bound it can fall upon the horse,

he is lost.

 

Nor is the wild boar an easy victim. If it be full grown, and have had

warning, and there be room enough, it will defend itself successfully.

At times, indeed, it comes off absolutely victorious—the Arabs having

found panthers in desert places, ripped up by a boar's tusks. A frequent

struggle, perhaps the only one which the panther openly engages in, is

with the porcupine; but the latter, though it grows to a considerable

size in Africa, is more formidable in appearance than in reality. It has

indeed, the property of bristling up its long, hard, sharp-pointed

quills, which it can even throw to some distance; but these arms cannot

save it. The slightest wound completely paralyses the muscular

contractions by means of which it places itself in a state of defence:

besides, it cannot do anything without something to fall back upon, such

as a tree or a stone.

 

However timorous and apt to run away the panther may be under ordinary

circumstances, it becomes really dangerous if its cubs have been carried

off in its absence—or under its very eyes by force, which only happens

when the hunters are in considerable numbers. At such times it will

sometimes perish in the attempt to save them—at least, the _dolly_, or

larger species will do so; but the _berrani_, or small panther, makes

off, uttering the while lamentable cries. The cubs, thus torn from their

mother, are given to chiefs residing in towns, to Sultans, Pashas, and

Beys; but they are never kept in a tribe, for when still quite young

they are dangerous even in their play, and no sort of attention will

ever tame them or guarantee the master of the tent, or his wives and

children, from a momentary outburst of fury on the part of the

perfidious and capricious brute. We may mention, however, that in

certain _zaouïas_ lions are tamed by marabouts and led up and down the

tribes. Thus summoning curiosity to the aid of charity, they augment the

amount of the alms which they beg for their congregation. The most

celebrated _zaouïa_ in which tame lions are kept is that of

Sidi-Mohammed-ben-Aouda, a tribe of the Flittas in the province of Oran.

 

With this special exception the Arabs—and it is a characteristic trait

worthy of note—never rear any but inoffensive animals. There is not a

tent without a gazelle, an antelope, a jackal, an ostrich, or a falcon;

but in no _douar_ is a savage beast ever to be seen, such as a hyæna, a

panther, or a lion. Some tribes take pleasure in rearing a young wild

boar, under the idea that it amuses the horses, which like its smell.

The little pig is faithful and always in motion. When the tribe is

changing ground, it trots about, grunting joyously in the midst of the

other animals, and accompanies the sheep and the calves to the pasture.

It is called "the father of good fortune," and strangely enough, it is a

lucky omen to meet a wild boar on issuing from one's tent. Prior to

Mohammed the Arabs used to eat swine's flesh, but the Prophet forbade it

to them, as well as the blood of animals and the flesh of every creature

that has not been bled.

 

The panther, as I have already remarked, seldom goes abroad during the

day; but if, by chance, shepherds or travellers happen to alight upon

one near an inhabited neighbourhood, they utter in shrill tones _ha

houa!_ "there it is!" These cries are repeated with incredible rapidity.

The entire population swarms forth—horse and foot, armed with whatever

first comes to hand, guns, sticks, swords, spears, or pistols, and

followed by their dogs and greyhounds. Surrounding on every side the

spot whither the beast has retired, generally difficult ground, covered

with thick high brushwood, they attack it fearlessly and usually end by

killing it. It rarely happens that it escapes while it is light.

 

But when, instead of this sudden outbreak of an entire population

against an unexpected enemy, a genuine hunt is projected, certain

preparations are made before starting. It is true, the panther will run

away if it has the chance, but it is always possible that it may show

fight; and although, in the long run, it is sure to be mastered without

a single casualty on the side of the hunters, it is as well to guard

against the wounds it may inflict, however insignificant in themselves.

It usually flies at the head. Against the lacerations of its teeth and

claws a sufficient defence is the thick woollen cap, the _shashia_, the

numerous folds of the haïk, the hood of the burnous, and the long,

coarse camel's rope. But the enemy may with a single bound spring on to

a horse's croup, and with one blow on the head with its paw knock over,

stun, and even kill the rider. On this account they not unfrequently don

a helmet—a helmet of modest pretentions, which at other times serves as

a kettle.

 

The panther is also killed, like the lion, from an ambush. A hole is dug

in the earth and covered over with branches, through which an opening is

made for the rifle of the concealed hunter, who fires at the distance of

about fifteen paces, as the animal approaches to devour the carcase of a

sheep or goat placed there for that purpose. But lest the brute, if only

wounded, should spring upon the _melebda_, as the hunter's hiding place

is called, the latter is always provided with two or three guns, and

perhaps with pistols likewise. At other times a gun is fastened to a

tree, and at the muzzle of the barrel is fixed a bait, to which a string

is tied, that passes round the tree and is attached to the trigger—so

that if the bait be pulled at all forcibly the gun is sure to go off.

And if the panther is not shot dead, it is certain to be wounded, and

the hunters set off in pursuit, guided by the tracks of blood it leaves

on its path. There is yet another mode of killing the panther, which is

by surprising it while sleeping. Should it happen to be awake, it is

merely a disappointment, not a danger, for it runs away at sight of a

man.

 

But whatever be the nature of the sport in which the Arabs indulge, the

least timorous are liable to superstitious fears. As it is not always

possible to relinquish an enterprise when they have once entered upon

it, they endeavour by all means to avoid chances of sinister omen. On

the other hand they become emboldened, and take courage if, on setting

out, they are greeted by one of those encounters which are reputed

fortunate—with a jackal in the morning for instance, or with a wild boar

in the evening.

 

Let thy morning be with a jackal,

And thy evening with a wild boar.

 

A hare or a fox is of ill omen; as is, also, a single crow, or a white

mare. A still worse and more detestable omen is the sight of an old

woman. But it is a good chance for whoever sees two crows or a mare of

any colour; and, above all, success, glory, and plunder, await the

_goum_ that, when starting on an expedition, is met by a beautiful young

and noble maiden, who will uncover her bosom and show one of her

breasts. It is the custom; and if the damsel were to refuse this

blessing to the warriors of her tribe, they would dismount to compel

her, were she the daughter of the chief and though he were himself at

the head of the _goum_—all the better, indeed, if her birth were so

exalted, for the nobler the damsel, the happier the augury. In the west,

young girls loosen their girdle. If, in the morning, you hear

affectionate and courteous words, you will have a pleasant day; but it

will be the reverse if on first awaking you are greeted with an

imprecation or an insult. Do not go out to hunt on a Tuesday, a Thursday, or a Friday.